A federal jury in the District of Nevada convicted a former Las Vegas city councilwoman and gubernatorial candidate yesterday on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud for executing a scheme to defraud charitable donors by falsely claiming she was raising money to memorialize police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Michele Fiore, 54, of Pahrump, Nevada, while serving as a Las Vegas city councilwoman, solicited donors for money to build statues honouring two Las Vegas police officers who had been killed in the line of duty.
The evidence at trial demonstrated that Fiore promised donors that “100% of the contributions” would be used towards the construction of memorials for the fallen officers. However, Fiore did not use any of the more than $70,000 in charitable donations she raised for the memorials.
Instead, Fiore spent the money donated by the victims on a variety of personal and political expenses, including political fundraising bills, personal rent payments, and payments to family members.
Fiore is scheduled to be sentenced on January 6, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison on each count.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans of the FBI Las Vegas Field Office made the announcement.
